Protective covering for shoes



April 1941. J. MICHELILJIAN 2,238,536

PROTECTIVE COVERING FOR SHOES Filed Jan. 23, 1940 7 6 INVENTOR.

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We ATTORNEYfi Patented Apr. '15, 1941 PROTECTIVE COVERING FOK SHOES Joseph Michelman, Portsmouth, Ohio, assi hor' to The Selby Shoe Company, Portsmouth, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Application January 22, 1940, Serial No. 315,219

Claims.

This invention relates generally to a protective covering to be used on shoes during certain stages of their manufacture. More specifically it relates to a durable flexible cover adapted to be slipped over a shoe upper, after the upper has been secured to a last, to protect the upper from stains, spots, scratches, and dirt during the subsequent manufacturing operations.

In the manufacture of shoes it is conventional practice to first assemble the upper. This is almost entirely a hand operation and represents a very substantial portion of the total cost of the manufacture of the completed shoe. After the upper has been finished it is then placed upon and secured to a last. Since the upper manufacturing operations are performed with great care, at this point in the manufacture of a shoe th upper is clean and unscarred. The basic objective of the present invention is to maintain it in this condition during succeeding operations in which it is subjected to a substantial amount of handling.

After the upper has been secured to the last, the succeeding operations such as stitching on the welt, applying the bottom filler, cementing soles and upper, sewing or cementing outsole to Welting, leveling outsole, trimming sole, attaching wheel, setting edge of sole and finishing and stamping the bottom of the sole require no exposure of the upper. However, unless the upper is protected during these various operations it will almost certainly become marred, scratched, or stained.

In the past, various types of covering for the lasted upper have been provided. Protective covers of paper and cloth have been used rather generally and a comparatively recent process contemplates the spraying of the lasted upper with liquid latex which is allowed to harden before further manufacturing operations are commenced and is not removed until the shoe is completely manufactured. Various methods of maintaining the paper or cloth covers in position have been suggested,'including tie-strings and pressure sensitive adhesive tape.

These various methods and means for solving the problem have been only partially successful. Most, if not all of the covers provided have been adapted to serve but a single shoe and after this shoe is completed they have been thrown away. The resulting cost of the operation has been very considerable. None of the means provided for holding the covers in position has been entirely satisfactory. In some cases the cover is insufficiently affixed to the last and in others the fastening means have tended to encroach tuu far into the space at the under side of the last where the welt is attached and the various sole applying operations performed. An additional objection has been that covers adapted to be used more than once have been inflexible in size and suitable for further use only on another shoe of the exact size and style,

The structure of the present invention is believed to completely overcome all of the various objections which have been advanced against the covers of the prior art and the means provided for securing them to the lasted upper.

One object of the invention, therefore, has been to provide .a protective cover which may be used and reused many times before it is necessary to discard it. I

Another object has been to provide a cover of flexible material adapted to fit a wide range of shoe sizes as well as all of the conventional styles in the respective sizes.

Another object has been to provide a particularly efiective yet simplified fastening means which enables the cover'to be placed over and removed from the lasted upper with a minimum of time and effort but still afiixes it securely and in such a way that it does not interfere in the slightest with succeeding manufacturing operations.

Another object has been to provide a cover sufiiciently tough so that it will not readily tear.

Another object has been to provide a cover which is washable so that upon reuse it will not soil the finish of a particularly light shoe.

A further and particularly important object has been to provide a cover which substantially reduces the cost of the operation.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the further and more detailed description of the invention when considered in relation to the drawing in which Figure 1 is a perspective View showing a preferred type of cover in place on a lasted upper.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 2-2, Figure 1. In this figure the sole of the shoe is represented by the dot-dash lines and the figure illustrates the manner in which the fastening elements secure the cover to a. lasted upper sothat it will not interfere with subsequent operations incident to the attachment of the Welt and the insole and outsole.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 but utilizing a modified fastening means.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4, Figure 3.

to assume various configurations.

Figure 5 is a view similar to 1 and 3 and illustrates another modification of the fastening means.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the lines 6-6, Figure 5.

In the drawing Figure 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention. A protective cover l formed from flexible material is shown affixed around a completely sewn upper H. The upper is secured to a last l2 by tacks I3. The outline of the upper, beneath the cover, is indicated by the dotted line H. The preferred material from which the cover is formed is rubber and inorder to economically produce a cover which conforms to the general outline of a lasted shoe, a molding or dipping process may be employed.

When in place the cover- Ii] completely envelops the upper with the lower edge l terminating approximately along the line defined-by the sole line of the last. have their heads vulcanized or molded into the cover along the outer edge and extend inwardly toward the last at spaced points. This method of embedding the pin heads is very advantageous as it greatly facilitates the reuse of the cover and the possibility of the hands of the workmen being injured by the protruding pin heads is minimized.

Preferably, the pins are omitted from the rear or heel portion I! of the cover as the curvature of the heel provides an abutment which maintains the cover in position without other means of attachment. The omission of the pins over A plurality of pins It may taching this type of cover is the same as that described for the cover shown in Figures 3 and 4.

In this modification it is practical to use the flexible sheet along the shank portion of the cover and in addition to insert a few pins (not shown) at the toe portion to hold the cover more securely in position at this point.

The preferred structure and modifications herein described and illustrated are not to be considered as inclusive of all of the various adaptations of the entire invention and there are other modifications which will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

this portion also tends to facilitate the applicaupper which extends over the bottom of the last and beyond the sole line with a minimum of effort as a very secure attachment is not required.

Any marks that the pins may make in the portion of the upper just referred to will be completely covered by the subsequently attached insole.

In Figures 3 and 4 a modified fastening means is disclosed. This modification comprises a flexible wire 20 such as aluminum which may be bent This Wire may be'molded or vulcanized into the edge of the cover I!) and may extend from the toe along the sides to the shank portion of the cover. There is less necessity for vulcanizing or molding the Wire into the cover than in the case of the pins, but doing so provides a neater structure and one in which the wire is less likely to become separated from the cover. As in the case of the preferred structure the heel portion of the cover may be left free of wire to provide a stretchable portion. In securing this modified cover it should be placed over the last and upper from toe to heel so that the lower edge in which the wire is embedded rests along a line just interior of the sole line as illustrated in Figure 4.

- The structure illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 is very similar to that illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 except that in this instance a flexible sheet 2| such as lead foil is inserted into the edge of the cover on either side. The technique of at- Accordingly having fully described my invention I desire to be limited only. by the ensuing claims.

I claim:

1. A protective cover for a shoe upper positioned on a last comprising a molded flexible casing conforming generally to the outlines of the upper and side portions of the last and having edges terminating approximately at the sole line of the last, and attaching means embedded in such edges, said attaching means comprising a plurality of pins spaced apart and adapted to be inserted into the lasted upper to maintain the cover securely in position.

2. A cover for protecting a lasted shoe upper, said cover comprising an envelope of flexible material conforming generally in contour to the shoe upper and adapted to removably fit over said upper and means including separate strips of ductile metal associated with the edge of said envelope contiguous to the shank portion one of said strips being positioned on either side of the upper at the sole line of the lasted upper for maintaining the envelope securely in position on the lasted upper.

3. A cover for protecting a lasted upper comprising a flexible envelope which conforms generally to the contour of said lasted upper and has its lower edge terminating at a line contiguous to the sole line of thelasted upper and means for removably securing said envelope in position comprising a plurality of pins embedded in the edge of said envelope at the toe portion thereof and two flexible sheets of metal embedded in said envelope one on either side at the shank portion thereof.

4. A cover for protecting a lasted upper comprising a flexible envelope which conforms generally to the contour of said lasted upper and has its lower edge terminating at a line contiguous to the sole line of the lasted upper and means for removably securing said envelope in position; said means comprising a plurality of disjointed lengths of pliable metal, said lengths being associated with the edge of the envelope at spaced points around the circumference thereof and being adapted to be bent to conform to the contour of the lasted upper.

5. A protective cover for a shoe upper positioned on a last comprising a molded flexible casing conforming generally to the outlines of the upper and side portions of the last and having edges terminating approximately at the sole line of the last and attaching means for maintaining said cover in position; said means comprising a plurality of separate attaching members associated with the edge of the cover at spaced points around its circumference.

JOSEPH MICHELMAN. 

